SURVEY - METH AFFECTS 1 IN 3 IN MARION COUNTY

Mayor Thinks Survey Results Would Be Lower In Silverton

Methamphetamine addiction has affected the lives of one of every
three people living in Marion County, according to a recent survey
sponsored by a legislative task force.

About 36 percent of participants in the survey answered "yes" to the
question, "Have you, a member of your family or a neighbor been in
some way affected by problems related to methamphetamine?"

The survey also found widespread community concern about
methamphetamine and other drug abuse.

Silverton Police Chief Rick Lewis declined to comment on the survey
without seeing it.

The telephone survey was done in July and involved 300 Marion County
residents selected at random. It has a margin of error of 5.8 percent.

Former Marion County Commissioner Mike Ryan, who oversaw the survey
for the task force, said the results should be an eye-opener for
people who think methamphetamine addiction is a limited or contained
issue in this area.

"That's a big, big number, I think," Ryan said. "It says the level of
concern voiced by people has a very big base on personal impact.
There's a huge alarm and concern about methamphetamine, and it's personal."

The survey found that crime and drugs were the area's most important
overall issues, with 84 percent of respondents agreeing. The other
issues that people thought most important were education at 70
percent, and health-care access at 62 percent.

Methamphetamine use in particular was considered the most important
public-safety issue in Marion County, with 83 percent of respondents
agreeing. In comparison, 41 percent thought gangs were the most
important public-safety issue, and 40 percent thought home robbery
or theft were the most important.

In 2004, a community survey of 920 Silverton households listed drugs
as one of three most frequently cited "major problems" in the
community, though the study didn't specifically ask about
methamphetamine. The other major problems cited were housing prices
and traffic congestion.

Silverton councilman Bill Cummins said he had read an article in the
Statesman Journal about the county survey in August, but hadn't seen
the results personally.

"Since becoming a city councilmember, I have not been briefed on the
statistics of the impacts of meth," he said. He was, however, very
concerned about any percentage of meth use in Silverton.

"Nobody should be affected by methamphetamines," Cummins said. "It is
sad if the statistic of one in three people in Salem is true. I hope
it's not the same statistic in Silverton."

Given the broad nature of the survey question, which allowed survey
respondents to comment on their general perception of the problem in
their neighborhood, Silverton Mayor Ken Hector did not find the
results of the survey at all difficult to believe.

"I certainly don't think that percentage would be high. It's a
problem that's pretty well widespread." Hector said. "I think we have
people who reside in Silverton who are meth users, and I think we
have people from outside Silverton who are meth users who come into
Silverton and create problems. It's probably the worst of all the
drug problems that we have seen over time. Our police, Chief Lewis in
particular, are very involved with working on the meth problem in a
coordinated fashion with the county and the state."

In addition to closing down meth labs and putting a stop to meth
sales, many communities are hoping to see more focus on treatment of
meth addicts.

In fact, according to information provided by Marion County,
chemical-dependency providers throughout the county are field-testing
evidence-based practices that target meth addiction. Personnel at
Seasons Counseling, an alcohol abuse and addiction treatment facility
in Silverton, stated that they had seen an increase in clients
seeking treatment for methamphetamine addiction and that it was the
third most common drug addiction in treatment behind alcohol and marijuana.

The survey was conducted in advance of a fundraising effort to create
a Marion County methamphetamine strike force. Local leaders and
business owners are being asked to raise $400,000 to pay for one year
of the countywide, multi-agency strike force's operations, which
will target methamphetamine dealers.

About 81 percent of the survey's participants approved of the
creation of such a task force.